This was such a charming game, genuinely fun and genuinely funny. The story is compelling without getting bogged down in unnecessary drama (this is a Mario game after all), and the gameplay was simple but also unique enough to feel fresh.

Would definitely be in the conversation for best RPGs ever made, but for the fact that the player is required to do platforming jumps from an isometric 3/4 overhead view on a controller that doesn't handle diagonals very well. The platforming segments can get pretty painful.